Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communications networks, such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). Some embodiments relate to policy and charging control in such networks.
Description of the Related Art
A key component of communications networks, such as a LTE network, is the policy and charging control (PCC) function that provides and enhances capabilities of delivering dynamic control of policy and charging on a per subscriber and per internet protocol (IP) flow basis. The PCC architecture can provide support for fine-grained QoS and enable application servers to dynamically control the QoS and charging requirements of the services they deliver. Dynamic control over QoS and charging can assist mobile operators in providing customers with a variety of QoS and charging options when choosing a service.
This may be especially important with the increase in the use of smart phones and applications offering online video services (i.e., online streaming) Due to the proliferation of smart phones there has been a surge in data traffic flowing through mobile networks. Furthermore, since mobile operators do not have much control over the data generated by the applications running in the devices and there is currently no standard followed by application developers, there has been a constant increase in data traffic within mobile data network. This has caused significant concern for mobile operators today.